


James Potter and the Head Boy Badge

by bellatricks



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, First War with Voldemort, James and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, Marauder's Seventh Year, Pre-Events of HP Books, marauder era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-06-08 12:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6854098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellatricks/pseuds/bellatricks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's James Potter's seventh year at Hogwarts and things are changing. He Who Must Not Be Named is gaining power, some of James's peers have even joined him. The wizarding world is on the brink of chaos. But he won't let that get him down, he's James Potter. He's going to enjoy his seventh year, pull some practical jokes with his best friends, be the best Head Boy he can, pass his N.E.W.T.S., and maybe, just maybe, win over Lily Evans in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. September 1st

 

It was September 1st, and James Potter getting ready to leave for platform nine and three quarters for the very last time. He had just finished packing his trunk, and now he was putting on his robes. He’d been made Head Boy this year, an honor that ‘was not to be taken lightly’, as stated in a letter he’d received from Professor McGonagall that had arrived along with his list of supplies. He smiled in the mirror as he pinned his badge to his robes. He knew his head of house was fond of him, no matter how many times she’d dragged him and the other Marauders, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, into her office to scold them.

            “Oh Christ.” Said a voice behind him. “Potter, if you spend all day staring at yourself in the mirror we’ll miss the train.” The voice belonged to Sirius Black, who was now standing behind James, grinning at him in the mirror.

            “I was just making sure my appearance was satisfactory. I’ve got an example to set.” James said, turning around to face Sirius.

            “Sure, an example. I’m certain this worry over your appearance has nothing to do with one Lily Evans?” Sirius teased, his grin growing wider.

            “For one, I am _not_ worried. Secondly, no, I am not worried about Evans, I am worried about McGonagall.”

            “Well,” Sirius began, “You say you are not worried, but then you tell me you’re worried about McGonagall. Also, why McGonagall? Have you given up on Evans, moved on to older women?”

            “Merlin, no Sirius! You saw the letter she sent, I am to be a model student now that I’m Head Boy.” James said, his chest swelling with pride. “Besides, you’re wasting time now, wasn’t it you who was so worried about punctuality just a few minutes ago?”

            “Okay, okay, you win this round, Mr. Model Student. Let’s go already!” Sirius said, and then apparated away. James took a deep breath and followed suit.

 

 

            The platform was alive with people bustling to and fro. Many first years were gaping at the scene, while their parents hugged them goodbye and rattled off one last lecture about their expectations. Excited fifth years were greeting their friends, some of them showing off their Prefect badges proudly. James looked around and smiled, taking in these moments as they would be the last like them.

            “Notice anything off?” Sirius whispered to him. It was then that he looked around and noticed the sixth and seventh years, or lack thereof. The thoughts he had momentarily pushed away all came back. The war with He Who Must Not Be Named was still happening, and more wizards were joining with the dark forces.

            “Unfortunately.” He said in response, and then in an attempt to lighten things up, he added, “Let’s hope Snivellus has joined them, he’s useless as a wizard anyway, and this will get him out of our hair.” Sirius laughed, but deep down they both knew it was forced.

            “Well then,” James said, after a moment, “Better get off to helping the younger students board the train, lord knows McGonagall will have my head if she thinks I’m not doing my duty.” With that he walked away, towards a group of second years socializing.

            “Well my father works for the ministry, and I heard that He Who Must Not Be Named is planning to attack Hogwarts with dragons.” Said one, a Gryffindor.

            “Male or female?’ Inquired a Ravenclaw that was standing within the group.

            “Males, of course.” The Gryffindor answered. “I heard it from one of the Aurors, word for word.”

            “Nuh uh. Males aren’t as violent as the females. If you’d actually read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you’d know.” The Ravenclaw retorted.

            “Oh really now? Are you saying I’m lying? Because I’ll-“

            “Okay, okay, enough. Why don’t you all get on the train? You wouldn’t want to miss it.” James said, shooing the second years in the direction of the train. “And just by the way, I find it highly unlikely that He Who Must Not Be Named will attack Hogwarts. I don’t think he has the strength. Even if he did, he wouldn’t use dragons, dragon training takes too long and he wouldn’t have enough experienced dragon trainers to control them.” He added, mostly for his ego.

            After the second years were herded onto the train, James decided he had done his part and boarded the train himself. He felt a strange, childlike joy when he took his seat at the front of the train, in the compartment for the Head Boy and Head Girl. His pockets were full of galleons and he planned to buy as many sweets as he could from the trolley. He was going to do Seventh Year in style. He closed his eyes, and dozed off as he waited for the train to start moving.

 

 

            “Mar, I have no idea who the Head Boy is, but I will have that Boy’s head!” A voice said outside James’s compartment, waking him. He didn’t recognize the voice at first, until it spoke again.

            “Honestly Mar, it’s a nightmare and it’s only September 1st.” The voice of Lily Evans said. James realized that she was speaking to Marlene McKinnon, one of her best friends, besides Severus Snape, though he wasn’t sure if they were still speaking anymore.

            The door opened and Lily Evans stomped in. It was then that James, now fully awake realized something, Lily Evans was the Head Girl. He was very pleased for a minute, he’d always liked Lily, and he would get to spend more time with her now.

            The realization that immediately followed was less pleasant; Lily Evans was furious at the Head Boy, which was him. He’d already annoyed Lily, and the year hadn’t even started yet.

            “Potter, what are you doing in here? This is where the Head Boy and Head Girl sit.” Lily said, and James, instead of answering like a normal person, just sat there and stared at her.   “Wait. Are you the Head Boy?” She asked him after a moment of them just staring at each other in silence. James nodded at her. Lily exploded.

            “I should’ve known! Of course! Of course they put you as Head Boy. And me? Well I’m stuck doing all the work while the golden boy slacks off. Do you even know what I just dealt with? No you don’t, because you were in here kicking your feet up while I was out there, doing the job we’re supposed to share.” Lily ranted before sitting down with a huff.

            “I’m sorry, Evans.” James said, it was all he could think of. Lily rolled her eyes and then sat in the corner across from him, as far as she could get. ‘If things keep going like this, it’s going to be a rough year.’ James thought.

 


	2. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Lily have an actual conversation and bond over sweets from the trolley.

The train began moving and Lily and James were silent. She had taken to looking out the window, while James stared straight ahead, trying to brainstorm a way to fix what he’d done. He couldn’t believe he’d messed up already. He didn’t even know what Lily had to deal with that was so bad. He kept repeating ‘I should’ve been there’ in his mind.

            The silence was broken about ten minutes after they pulled out of the station. The snack trolley had arrived. James jumped up, happy to see the familiar plump woman that pushed the trolley. He noted that she had reached him much sooner this year than ever before. A Head Boy perk most likely. He got a little bit of everything, and a few extras of his favorites, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Sugar Quills, and Bertie Bot’s Every Flavor Beans. Lily didn’t get anything, in fact, she barely acknowledged the trolley.

            James took his snacks and sat back down. He thought about how he could try to make things right. He decided he’d begin with a peace offering.

            “Lily.” He said softly. She turned to look at him, and it was then that he noticed she looked upset. Very upset actually. “Would you like a Pumpkin Pasty?” He asked. He knew that they were her favorites. In earlier years he’d spent quite a bit of his time staring at her, and he noticed that she always bought Pumpkin Pasties when they visited Hogsmeade.

            Lily didn’t respond to his offer. He picked up a pasty and held it out to her like a pumpkin flavored olive branch. She slowly reached over and grabbed it.

            “Thank you, James.” She said stiffly, before turning to look out the window again. James counted this as a small success, and after a moment he tried to start a conversation.

            “I’m really sorry I wasn’t out there helping, Lily.” He began, she turned to look at him. “What happened?” He asked. It was either the question, or the sincerity in his voice that threw her off guard. It was written all over her face that she hadn’t expected him to care. She sighed and began to tell him what happened.

            “Well, you know how there’s all this trouble going on with,” Lily’s voice dropped, “With Voldemort.” James was shocked, Lily Evans was one of the smartest people he knew, but she wasn’t afraid to use the name. Everyone else he knew thought it was absolutely foolish to use the name, and these were people he respected too. He’d thought Lily had more sensibility than to use the name.

            “Wait.” He said. “You used his name. Aren’t you afraid?” He asked her.

            “Of course I’m afraid!” Lily exclaimed. “But I believe that if we fear using his name we’re just giving him more power. The more fear of him we have, the more power he has over us. Now, can I get back to my story?” James was shocked, Lily wasn’t foolish, she was brave, braver than most people in the Ministry, braver than most people in the whole wizarding world for that matter.

            ‘Yes, sorry for my interruption.” James said, wanting her to continue speaking, wanting her to never stop imparting her wisdom onto him.

            “So I guess a few third years thought it would be funny to take their quills and draw the mark, his mark, on their arms. Like they were Death Eaters or something. It caused panic. Some of the parents saying goodbye to their kids were threatening to pull their kids out, teach them magic at home. There was this one woman who was convinced that Hogwarts had been taken over by his forces, that all the teachers were in on it. She even accused me of being one.” Lily said, her voice getting husky as though she was going to cry.

            “I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there to help you. I can’t even imagine how awful that must have been.” James said. He felt really horrible, Lily didn’t deserve any of that.

            “The thing is, and oh god I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but it really hurt when she accused me. I feel like I have to prove myself, you know? I have to prove that even though I’m muggle born I still deserve to be Head Girl. I’m still a real witch.” Lily said. Then, a few minutes later she said, “Never mind, it’s not like you’d understand, it’s stupid.” With that she turned back to the window.

            “It’s not.” James said. He couldn’t say he understood how she was feeling from a personal standpoint, but he got it. He was suddenly reminded of his fifth year, when Snape had called her a mudblood. He was supposed to be her best friend. James was so mad at him, Sirius had to restrain him from actually causing serious harm to the other boy.

            “Thank you James.” Lily said, her composure regained for the most part. “Now, I can’t help noticing you bought enough snacks to feed an entire house. Would you mind?” She asked.

            “Not at all, Evans, help yourself.” James said, pushing his snack towards her. She selected a Chocolate Frog, and a few Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. She then began to open her Chocolate Frog.

            “Who did you get?” James asked, curious. He had a philosophy that one never really grow out of wondering who they’ll get on a chocolate frog card.

            “Circe.” Lily replied. “I already have her, in fact she was on the first card I ever got. I used to hang them up on the walls of the room I shared with my sister, she couldn’t stand it.”

            “Your sister isn’t a collector?” James asked.

            “No, she says they’re unnatural. She hates how the pictures move and she says that the things that ‘those people’ are famous for are blasphemous.” Lily told him. James remembered then that Lily’s sister, like her parents, was a muggle.

            “I take it she’s not amused by the wizarding world?” James asked.

            “Not at all. She talks all the time about how much she loves loves loves being normal. ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to use the regular post Lily? Instead of an unreliable bird?’ ‘Do you even study core subjects at that school of yours Lily? You must all be dreadfully behind in your reading comprehension.’” Lily said, mocking her sister’s tone of voice.

            “She sounds delightful.” James said sarcastically.

            “Oh, you haven’t even heard the worst of it. She has this boyfriend, Vernon, he sells muggle tools, listening to him talk is like watching paint dry. Sometimes at dinners I want to strangle him when he goes on for too long, but the thing is,” Lily began giggling, “His neck would be too thick for me to even get my hands halfway around.” She started laughing and James did too, imagining this dull muggle man with a giant neck.

 

 

            It went on like that for a while, the two swapping stories of their families, laughing and joking around. Then the train pulled into the station at Hogsmeade, all too soon in James’s opinion, and he and Lily were off to direct first years to the boats they’d paddle all the way to Hogwarts, a tradition James had never understood, but appreciated all the same.

            This time there was no drama or naps. He and Lily worked as a team, perfectly in tune with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. The Feast and The Fat Lady

Once the first years had arrived, and they’d been sorted, the feast began. James noted the lack of Slytherins at the House’s table. A lot of them had gone to join Voldemort, which was to be expected, but there weren’t many new Slytherins either. It was almost as though the Sorting Hat was avoiding putting them there. Everyone these days was saying how Slytherin House breeds dark wizards.

            “Can you believe it?” Sirius asked, turning to James, who was still wrapped up in his own thoughts, staring off at the Slytherin table.

            “Believe what?” He asked, snapped out of his mind.

            “Look over there at my cousin practically conjoined with Lucius Malfoy. Disgusting. I can’t believe she hasn’t run off like Bellatrix to join the other Death Eaters.”

            “Well to be fair neither has Andromeda.” James said.

            “That’s because Andromeda has a brain and enough sense to tell right from wrong, a quality my family lacks in spades.” Sirius said. “I swear, if the dark wizards ever attack it’ll be like a bloody family reunion.”

            “Don’t say that!” Peter Pettigrew said nervously. The group had always loved Peter but sometimes he was like a child they had to watch out for. He was skittish and excitable, but James knew he was also a quiet genius. Remus Lupin might have been considered the brains of the group, because he was always reading a book, but James considered him to be more of a moral compass. Where Remus would advise against a dangerous plan, Peter would work out a way to carry out said plan without getting caught. James firmly believed that despite his anxiety to please, he was a master of strategy.

            “Sorry mate.” Sirius said to Peter, “Didn’t mean to get you all worked up.” Sirius then began shoving food into his mouth. Dinner rolls, potatoes, roast, all colliding with his mouth in rapid succession.

            “Sirius, you eat like a dog.” James said, smirking.

            “You really do, show some manners. I mean I love the feasts just as much as you do, but you don’t see me _wolfing down_ my meal.” Remus grinned.

            “Oh, stop _hounding_ him, let the boy enjoy his meal.” Peter said, before bursting into quiet giggles.

            Once Peter started laughing, it set the whole group off, Sirius almost choking on the food that had started the discussion. James loved this feeling, carelessly happy with his friends, laughing over stupid jokes that had been told a thousand times. ‘This is it,’ he thought, ‘This is how my Seventh Year should be.’ And in that moment everything was spectacular, dark wizards and wars the farthest thing from the Maurauders’ minds.

 

            Later James walked with his friends up to Gryffindor Tower.

“I can’t wait to see my beautiful bed. I’m ready to sleep forever.” Sirius said as they walked.

“Well, I’d love a hot shower, wash the train off me.” Remus said.

“Both sound good.” Peter added. The boys all bobbed their heads sleepily. It had been a long day and they were ready to rest, James included. Of course, James wouldn’t be staying in the dorm he and his friends had occupied for the last six years. He’d be up in the Head Boy and Girl dorm this year.

He felt nostalgic when he saw The Fat Lady, he remembered the many nights she’d berated him for leaving the dorms for what she referred to as ‘shenanigans’. He remembered the times he’d stood outside her portrait, dreaming of falling into bed after quidditch practice while she chatted with the other portraits, ignoring him.

            “Oh look at you lot!” She exclaimed when she saw the Mauraders. “Seventh Years now! My, oh my, it seems like just yesterday you were tiny First Years. Merlin, I didn’t know what a pain in my neck you’d all grow into. Dorothy! Oh Dorothy, come see how these boys have grown!” She said, summoning another portrait.

            “Looks like you’ll be waiting a while, you know how she loves to chat.” James said.

            “Don’t we.” Remus replied. “Go on, you’re Head Boy, you can’t be exhausted tomorrow morning. It’s the first day of classes.”

            “Are you sure?” James asked, feeling guilty at the idea of leaving his friends to wait for who knew how long while he went to his fancy new dorm.

            “Oh, I’m sure we’ll get along without you.” Sirius said, shooing James off with a tired smile. “Go on, Mr. Head Boy, rest up. Remus is right, I want to see pep in your step tomorrow!” James rolled his eyes at his friend, and then said goodnight to all of them before walking off towards his new living quarters.

            “Goodnight James!” Peter called after him, and James smiled.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't abandoned this! Finals were killing me, BUT it's Summer now and I plan to write more often.


	4. First Day of School, Same Old Problems

 

            The next day went by in a blur. James had been woken up two hours before classes started by Lily. She said that they needed to be up extra early so that they could deal with everything that could possibly go wrong, while still having time to eat.

            “What exactly is going to go wrong?” He asked her, wanting to go back to sleep. Never in his life had he woken up earlier than he had to.

            “Well let’s consider the possibilities. We have first years who don’t know anything about the school. They account for a large majority of problems but here are some of the most common; getting trapped on a staircase while it moves, messing around with their wands and accidentally hexing someone, falling off a broom, getting lost, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I think you get the idea?”

            “I do. Now, and please Evans don’t take offense when I say this, please get out of my room.” He said. He and Lily might’ve been on good terms after yesterday, but he still wanted some privacy.

            “Yes of course. I’m sorry, I probably should’ve thought about that before I barged in. I’ll see you in the common room.” Lily said, turning to leave.

            “It’s all good.” James said as she closed his door behind her.

 

            Once James had gotten dressed he headed down to the common room in the Head Boy and Head Girl dorm. The dorm was very elegant, it had a common room with comfortable couches, books, and a fireplace. Two mahogany staircases led up to the Head Boy and Girl’s rooms, respectively. James had long wondered what the inside looked like, it had been one of the few places in the castle that the Marauders hadn’t been able to sneak into. Instead of a password, access was granted only to those in possession of a Head Boy or Girl badge.

            Lily was already lounged on one of the couches, reading a book. She looked up when she heard James approaching. She looked at him for a moment, before standing up.

            “Merlin, James! Your tie is crooked. Here let me fix it for you.” She said, and then began fiddling with his tie. James felt his heart rate speed up. He hoped Lily couldn’t feel it, even though her hands were right on his chest.

            “Uh, okay, there you go.” Lily said, stepping back.

            “Oh, um thank you.” James said, hoping he didn’t sound as lame as he felt.

            “No problem. Proper grooming is important for a Head Boy.” As she said this James became aware that he was mussing up his hair again, an old habit of his. He snapped his hand down to his side. ‘Wow, real smooth James’ he thought. Though if Lily noticed, she was kind enough to pretend she didn’t.

            “Well we should probably get down to the Great Hall.” James said, trying to recover and go back to normalcy.

            “Yes, we should. We probably only have about fifteen minutes to eat before the majority of the school comes in. Once everyone up we’ll be swamped with questions and problems.” Lily said, and then began to walk quickly out the door. James followed behind.

            Once they were about halfway to the Great Hall, James voiced the thought he’d been having ever since they left the dorms. “My goodness Lily, why do you walk so fast?” He asked.

            “I have to get where I’m going. The quicker the better.” Lily replied in a chipper voice and continued walking at what James considered to be an unnecessarily fast pace, her long red ponytail swinging as she went. In fact he could’ve sworn she sped up.

            Since James was trying to keep up, they arrived at the Great Hall in a short amount of time. They were some of the only people there. Other diners included Severus Snape, Rita Skeeter, and a few Hufflepuffs all bent over a copy of the Daily Prophet. James and Lily took their seats at the Gryffindor table, James piling eggs, toast, and jam onto his plate. Meanwhile Lily sat across from him, spooning various fruits onto her plate and grabbing a piece of toast. They ate in relative silence, enjoying the calm before the storm they would inevitably face.

 

            After finishing their meals they decided to divide and conquer, James taking the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and Lily taking the Ravenclaws and the few first year Slytherins. James explained to his group everything he thought was worth mentioning; how the points system worked, when quidditch tryouts were, and the importance of _never_ crossing Madam Pince, the librarian.

            “Make sure you return your books on time, every time. And I swear they better be in the condition they were in when you borrowed them, otherwise you’ll never hear the end of it. One time I checked out ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’, fantastic book, I recommend it to all of you. Anyways I forgot I had it, and when it was returned there was a slight tear in one of the pages. This was when I was a Second Year, mind you, and now still when I go to get a book she says to me, ‘Better not treat this book the way you did with ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’.’ Now, any questions?” He finished.

            “Yes, are there any dangers here? Because I heard that the Dark Lord-”

            “Shhhh!” Another student said cutting the other student off. The students then all turned to James to see what he had to say about this.

            “I can assure you Hogwarts is one of the safest places you can be. Don’t worry about any of that, for right now just focus on doing well in your classes. You’ll learn a lot of really cool stuff. Now let’s see, your first class is Charms, you’ll enjoy that. I believe the first lesson is on levitation. Now go and enjoy your first day!” James said, hoping he was showing the pep that Sirius had wanted to see.

 

            The rest of the day went by surprisingly quickly, there were many minor incidents that James had to handle, which soaked up the majority of his time. At the end of the day he collapsed onto the bench in the Great Hall, and began mindlessly piling food on his plate, relieved to be off his feet.

            His friends joined him shortly, asking him how his first full day of Head Boy duties had treated him. He mostly answered in monosyllables, too exhausted to hold up a conversation.

            “Sorry mates, I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I just want to eat all the food I can, and then sleep. Evans had me up two hours early this morning!” James said. At that Sirius and Peter let out shocked and horrified gasps.

            “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Remus said, before turning back to his potatoes.

            “What?” Sirius asked, his mouth full of a giant bite of food.

            “It’s a saying, most commonly attributed to an American muggle, Benjamin Franklin.” Remus said.

            “Okay but like anyone would know that.” Sirius argued.

            “Well it’s a popular saying.” Remus countered. James ignored this, he knew that Sirius and Remus liked to argue over trivial things, it wasn’t an actual issue. Instead of paying attention, James stared off into space, not really thinking of anything, his brain too overworked to do so.           

            While James was doing so, Rita Skeeter, a gossipy Fifth Year approached him. He was so distracted he barely noticed her until she was right up on him.

            “Hello James!” She said, her voice like artificial sugar, sweet and fake. “So, Head Boy this year, huh? Well aren’t you just a golden boy.”

            “Hello Rita.” James grimaced. He despised conversations with Rita, she had a way of twisting words around so that the original meaning no longer existed.

            “So James, tell me, how are things with little Miss Lily Evans? I saw you two sitting together at breakfast.” James sighed. He should’ve known that Rita would want in on whatever it was that was going on with Lily. He’d been quite obvious about his crush on her in the past, and he had the sense that Rita couldn’t wait to be the one to inform the entire school if he and Lily had gotten together.

            “Well, she’s Head Girl this year. We’re friends, and we wanted to have breakfast to discuss splitting up work.” James said, hoping that would satisfy Rita’s curiosity. Unfortunately it did not, and she grilled James for another twenty minutes before running back to the Ravenclaw table to inform her house of whatever she’d ‘learned’. James was so tired that he couldn’t be bothered, and instead headed up to his dorm, where he collapsed on one of the comfortable couches and promptly fell asleep.

 

            About an hour later, James awoke to see an angry Lily Evans standing over him. He had a sense of déjà vu, as this had also happened on the train the day before.

            “Evans,” He said, “We have got to stop meeting like this.”

            “Not now James. I’d like to talk about how you told the whole school we were dating. Actually, you said that we had been dating but were discussing splitting up at breakfast this morning.” Lily said.

            “Whoa now. Where on Earth did you hear that?” James asked, puzzled. He was certain he never said anything about dating Lily, or splitting up with her, which had a prerequisite of dating.

            “Listen James, I’m too tired to deal with this. I thought you’d grown out of being so childish but I guess not.” Lily said, and with that she turned on her heel and marched up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.

           James sat in the common room, going over everything he’d said since he’d arrived at the platform two mornings ago. After about an hour, it came to him.

            “ _Rita_.” He said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for how this ended and I swear it will be fixed soon because I honestly cannot stand lack of communication as a plot device and I know it's endlessly frustrating.


	5. Rita and Ridiculousness

 

            ‘ _We wanted to have breakfast to discuss splitting up work.’_ That’s what he had said. James immediately wanted to kick himself for his choice of words. He had made it way too easy for Rita to twist. All she had to do was drop off the work part and voila! Now he and Lily were a couple that was splitting up. He could see why Lily was so angry. She had hated all the times he’d publicly asked her out. He’d come to learn that Lily preferred to keep her personal life private. He realized this now that he was older and had grown out of his awful ‘I’m James Potter and everyone should love me’ phase. He could imagine how Lily felt, now that Rita Skeeter had made up lies about her personal life and made them public.

            He knew he had to apologize to Lily. He just wasn’t sure whether he should do so right then, or once Lily had gotten her rest. On the one hand, if he waited until the morning she might’ve already left the dorm, instead of waiting up for him like she had today. Then, who knew when he would get a moment alone with her to explain what had really happened. On the other hand, she was already angry, and if he woke her up she’d just be angrier. Still, at least he’d get to say his piece and hopefully she’d realize that he hadn’t meant to upset her or be childish.

            Eventually he decided he’d softly knock on her door, and if she answered, he’d try to explain, otherwise he’d go to bed and maybe leave a note out or something. He took a deep breath and then slowly walked up the steps towards her door.

            “Lily” He whispered as he knocked. He heard movement in her room, and then the door opened just a fraction of an inch and Lily peered out through the opening.

            “Potter. I told you I don’t want to talk.” Lily said.

            “Please, just let me explain what happened.” James said, hoping that she would be willing to hear him out.

            “Fine, give me a minute.” Lily said, and then closed the door again. James turned and walked back down the stairs to the common room.

 

            After about two minutes, Lily emerged from her room and descended the stairs. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Her hair had been tied up in a high ponytail. James thought about how beautiful she was, but he quickly pushed the thought away. He had a feeling that bringing his feelings for Lily into this would not help his case. Lily sat on a couch opposite of him.

            “Alright, I’m listening.” She said.

            “Okay, so I definitely did not say anything about us splitting up, or dating. But before I explain how that might’ve gotten around, I need to know where you heard all of this in the first place.” James said, he figured Lily was smart enough to know Rita Skeeter was a liar, but he wanted to know how it had gotten around.

            “I heard it from Marlene.” Lily said. “And I trust her, so tell me, why wouldn’t I believe her?”

            “Who told Marlene?” James asked. He had always thought Marlene was pretty sensible about things like this. Other things, well to say the least she and Sirius liked to do reckless things sometimes. Nonetheless, she was a good judge of the truth and could discern gossip from fact.

            “Some first years. They came up to her wanting to know what she knew about me and my relationship.” Lily said, putting air quotes around relationship. ‘First years.’ James thought. ‘The only ones at this school who wouldn’t know Rita was full of it.’

            “That makes sense.” James said, Lily looked surprised. “Really, it does.” James began to explain. “Rita Skeeter came up to me at dinner,” at the mention of Rita’s name Lily sighed. James could tell she knew where this was going. “I was tired and I really didn’t pay her much mind. She did ask if we were dating, and I said that we were just discussing splitting up work. She twisted it, the way she does with everything. I guess she figured the first years are the only ones who would listen to her.”

            “I’m sorry.” Lily said. “I guess I jumped to conclusions. I can’t believe I let one of Rita Skeeter’s lies get the best of me. Of all people! Rita Skeeter!” Lily said. James breathed a sigh of relief, she wasn’t mad at him anymore.

            “I don’t blame you. With my history of, well, the way I’ve acted in the past.” James said.

            “No, I should’ve trusted you. You’ve been so nice this year, and definitely less obnoxious, no offense. Goodnight James.” Lily said, turning to head back up the stairs.

            “Goodnight Lily.” James said, heading off to his room as well.

 

            The next morning they walked to the Great Hall together. James had the sense that Lily was planning something. She had the same look on her face that Sirius got when he was making a plan. He didn’t know what she was planning, but he was glad he wasn’t Rita Skeeter.

            They sat down for breakfast, same as the day before. Rita Skeeter was there, but Lily didn’t even make a move towards her, didn’t even acknowledge her presence. She just calmly buttered a piece of toast and selected an apple from the tray of fruit. Then she pulled out her wand, and for a minute James thought she was going to hex Rita right then and there. She didn’t though, she just used a simple spell to cut her apple. James realized that the thought that Lily Evans, Head Girl, would hex a student two years younger than her over a person matter was ridiculous.

            As they ate breakfast, James began to think he had been wrong. Maybe Lily wasn’t planning anything at all. Maybe she was going to let it go. Then, he saw Lily stand up and walk over to the Ravenclaw table. He followed behind her, wanting to see what would happen. Lily came to a stop right in front of Rita, where she was chattering away with some First Year Ravenclaws.

“Miss Skeeter.” She said calmly, annunciating each syllable. “I would think that a house such as yours would value the truth over gossip. Knowledge is nothing if it is not true. Ravenclaws are meant to be wise, and in your case, it was very unwise to spread lies about your peers. In the future, I would advise you to get the facts, and leave your interpretations out of it. I think you have represented your house badly, and for that I take ten points from Ravenclaw.” Lily said, before turning to walk away. James could hear the Ravenclaws muttering amongst themselves, and giving side glances to Rita, who sat there looking shocked. That was when James realized that Lily Evans was scarier than he could’ve ever imagined.


	6. The Chocolate Frog Card Conundrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so in all honesty this chapter is mainly filler, because I needed a way to transition into my NEXT chapter, which will be different than the chapters I've uploaded so far. Anyways, Ted Tonks and Andromeda Black are there so, enjoy.

            James walked out of the Great Hall and slammed directly into Ted Tonks.

            “Sorry James!” Ted said, and kept walking. James noted that he was moving very quickly, which was weird. James thought about it for a moment before shaking it off and continuing towards his class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

            About halfway down the hall, James saw Andromeda Black. He thought it was strange that she wasn’t walking with Ted, as she normally did.

            “Morning Andromeda.” James said. She stopped and gave James a strange look.

            “Morning James. You wouldn’t have happened to have seen Ted, would you?” She asked him.

            “Well, actually I have. He was just headed to the Great Hall. You know, for breakfast I assume.” James said, bewildered.

“Damn him.” Andromeda said, confusing James even more. “We’re racing,” Andromeda explained, James’s confusion must’ve shown on his face. “He went down a secret hallway that he learned about, I assume from one of your friends.” James vaguely remembered Remus showing Ted ways to move through the school faster. They had a shared interest in punctuality. “Anyways, now he’s definitely going to beat me there, and I’ll lose the bet.”

            “What were you betting?” James asked her.

            “Chocolate Frog cards. He wants them, claims that since he’s a muggle born he hasn’t been able to collect like I have. He wants to pick some of the rarer ones from my collection.” Andromeda said. James laughed, imagine Andromeda grudgingly handing over her cards. If there was one thing James knew about the Black family, it was that they hated to share. He fondly remembered an incident with Sirius in their first year.

            _They had been in their dorm for about an hour. After exploring, Remus has called dibs on first shower, and the other boys were unpacking their stuff._

_“Okay everyone, listen up!” Sirius said, climbing on top of his now empty chest. “I have an announcement, and it is that this area is mine. The items in this area are mine. There is to be no moving of the items in this area, as you have no business doing so, because they are mine.” He declared._

_“What if one of us loses something, and we suspect it may be in your area?” Peter asked him._

_“If the situation arises, I will look through my items, and if I spot something I will let you know.” Sirius had replied._

_“Okay, but what if you aren’t around? Are we allowed to look for it in your area?” James had asked._

_“Absolutely not. You will not touch any of the items in my area, under any circumstances.” Sirius said._

_“But suppose-“ Peter began, only to be cut off by Sirius making the universal noise for no, stop._

_The boys went back to unpacking, and soon Remus had exited the shower. He walked right over to Sirius’s stuff, having been showering during the spiel about belongings and space._

_“Hey, this is a cool copy of History of Magic.” He’d said, picking up the only book Bathilda Bagshot was known for from Sirius’s stack._

_As James remembers it from then, Sirius had tackled Remus and shouted. Remus had withdrew quickly, and slunk off to his bed. There had been tension between the two for weeks afterwards, but luckily Sirius got over it._

            James smiled at the memory, before saying goodbye to Andromeda, and heading off to his classes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not abandoning this! I was just busy with friends/summer reading/packing for a trip.


	7. Marlene, My Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Lily perspective!!! Marlene McKinnon!! Best friend conversation!!!

 

            Lily Evans was looking forward to a nice, peaceful day. She didn’t have many classes that day, as she was mostly doing independent magic studies. Her professors had provided her with some advanced material, something that was too high level to be taught at Hogwarts in a class, to practice on her own.

            She had also recently pledged her allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix, and was working on mastering sending messages through a Patronus charm. Currently her mission was to get a message to Marlene McKinnon, her best friend, who she knew for a fact was just lying around Gryffindor Tower, doing nothing.

            Lily conjured her Patronus without any trouble, thinking of the first time she’d been to Hogsmeade, and how much she had loved being able to buy fresh Pumpkin Pasties from the shop. Her senses took over when she conjured her Patronus, and the sights and sounds, and of course the sweet smells flooded back to her, almost transporting her back into that moment. Her doe, which had become very familiar was now in front of her, shining in silvery blue light.

            “Okay girl,” she whispered, “Let’s see if we can get a message to Marlene.” Lily conjured memories of Marlene in her mind, and cast the spell again, this time adding the words “Come here, love Lily” at the end. The memories of Marlene seemed to reflect in the doe. Marlene dancing on her bed when they were twelve, Marlene laughing at the shore, Marlene twirling in a floor length dress they’d found at a muggle thrift shop. Marlene, Marlene, Marlene.

            Then, the doe raced off, and Lily hoped it would make it to her and deliver the message. She decided to wait by the dormitory door, in case it worked. Even if it had, Marlene would have no way to get in.

 

            Moments later, Marlene arrived.

            “Well,” she said, “I want a full tour, I want to see all the mysteries that this ‘oh so special’ dorm holds.” She grinned, and Lily proceeded to let them in.

            “We won’t go into James’s room.” Lily said. She felt weird about going in there, almost as if it would be too personal, even though he wasn’t even there. Yes, she had been in there on the first day of classes, but things felt different now.

            “Why not?” Marlene huffed.

            “Respect of privacy.” Said Lily simply.

            “Fair enough, wouldn’t want him in your room, I guess.” Marlene said, before insisting on a full tour of Lily’s room and the common room.

            Lily took her up the stairs to her room, which was quite nice. The bed curtains were the colors of Gryffindor house, most likely to make Lily feel connected to her house, even though she no longer resided in the House dorms.

            She had an attached full bath, with a nice shower, and a large tub. There were also magic bath bombs, which when dropped in the water caused different affects. One made stars float above the water, another grew roses along the edge of the tub. Her towels had “LJE” embroidered onto them in gold thread.

            There was also an attached sitting room, where Lily could sit to study. She assumed the sitting rooms had been added because of the years when the Head Boy and Girl despised each other, which had happened quite a bit. In the sitting room Lily had found a book, similar to a guest book, where previous Head Girls had written in things for posterity. Some highlights included; “ _Instant braiding spell!”, “Alexander Prewett is an obnoxious git, and the WORST Head Boy!”,_ and a list of the various incidences the previous Head Girls had seen.

 

            After Marlene had satisfied her curiosity, the two girls settled in Lily’s sitting room, just in case James returned and wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation.

            “So.” Marlene began. “I have some unfortunate news about my, well, romantic life.” She said.

            “Are you going round with Sirius Black?” Lily asked her, it was widely assumed, since he and Marlene often enjoyed getting into things together.

            “No. I’m interested in someone more, feminine.” Marlene said, and Lily caught on. This wasn’t the first time Marlene had shown interest in a girl. In fact, she’d shown interest in many girls, she just could never seem to get a girlfriend. While Marlene was calm and collected around boys, she was anxious and awkward with girls.

            “Well, who is it?” Lily asked. “Do you think she has an interest in you?”

            “Doubtful.” Marlene sighed. “The thing is, she’s well, involved with someone. And, I don’t think you’ll approve of her.” Marlene said.

            “Goodness Mar! Spit it out already!” Lily said. She was tired of Marlene tiptoeing around the name.

            “It’s Narcissa, Narcissa Black.” Marlene said. Lily was speechless for a moment, Narcissa was a fifth year, and one of Sirius’s cousins. She was also with Lucius Malfoy, a highly suspected Death Eater.

            “The thing is Lily, she’s actually quite sweet. I know she hangs around with all those wannabe Death Eaters, but she really isn’t like that.” Marlene said.

            “Then why does she associate with them?” Lily asked, confused as to why Narcissa would choose to spend time with people like that if she wasn’t like them.

            “Well, the thing is, she really likes Lucius. A lot. She tells me he can be quite sweet.” Lily was taken aback. Lucius Malfoy? Sweet? And since when did Marlene spend time with Narcissa? When did they become friends?

            “How are you friends with her? When do you two hang out?” Lily asked her.

            “Well, I’m tutoring her, for her O.W.L.S..” Marlene began to explain, “And we’ve become quite close. I think she wants someone to talk to. Bellatrix is off now, and Andromeda refuses to engage in conversation with her. Did you know Lucius has proposed?” Marlene asked. Lily did not know, and demanded more details.

            “He says they’ll be married after she finishes school. She’s also told me that Lucius is in favor of some of the Death Eater ideology, but he isn’t open about it because he doesn’t want to ruffle any feathers. He plans on joining once enough powerful wizarding families do.” Marlene said.

            “Well, will Narcissa join?” Asked Lily.

            “I really hope not, but the poor dear, I think she’d join just out of support for Lucius.” Marlene said sadly. “So, what do you think Lils? Do you think I have any shot?”

            “I mean, I wouldn’t write it off. Maybe if you can convince her that Lucius is not a good person she’ll leave him. But I’m not sure she’d want more than a friendship with you.” Lily said.

            “That’s fine. Really I just want her to get away from the Death Eaters. They’re poisoning her mind.” Marlene said. She seemed sad, and Lily could see she really cared about Narcissa.

            “Well!” Marlene said brightly after a moment, “How are things with Mr. Potter?”

            “Oh.” Lily honestly wasn’t sure how to answer. She’d spent years hating him, but now she didn’t. He made her feel weird.

            “I think he’s grown up quite a bit. He’s tolerable, and actually quite nice sometimes.” Lily said.

            “And quite fit. I mean, Lils there’s no way you can deny it, he’s attractive.” Marlene said, and Lily laughed.

            “Okay yes, that’s true. Honestly I don’t know how I feel about him now. We’re friends I guess. That’s the easiest way to describe it, although it’s a little more complex. I don’t know. Goodness everything is so confusing. Can we talk about simple things for a bit, my head needs a break.” Lily said. Marlene nodded and the two began discussing light topics, such as castle gossip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm going to be honest. The point of this chapter is that Marlene McKinnon is bisexual. Thank you.


	8. Trouble in the Skies

 

            One day, a few weeks later, James headed out to the Quidditch Pitch. It was his first opportunity to do so, as he and Lily had been swamped.

            There had been a large problem with first years. They got lost, they got stuck on staircases, they snuck around after hours (which James was secretly pleased about, they’d have to fill his shoes one day, they were the future of pranking).

            The main problem was the staircases. While most first years would sit tight as the staircase lurched beneath them, one had panicked and fallen off. After a visit to Madame Pompfrey, the boy was fine. Yet James and Lily still had to give a presentation to the younger students entitled, “Staircases Move, and That’s Okay!”

            James had enjoyed spending time with Lily though, they’d gotten much closer, and he was glad she wasn’t constantly annoyed with him as she had been in previous years. Now they were very good friends.

            Still, James needed a break for a while. He needed to be on a broom, feeling the wind through his hair, and soaring across the sky. He’d always imagined leaving his problems on the ground, and tried not to think about them while on the broom.

 

            As James approached the pitch, he say a figure zipping across the sky. The figure seemed to notice him too, and it dipped down below the stands.

            Upon arrival, James saw that the figure was Emma Vanity, the Slytherin Quidditch captain. She was a tall girl with long brown hair that she always wore pulled back. She didn’t bother with makeup much, she was more concerned with athletics. James had found her to be highly competitive in the past, but other than that she seemed to be a nice enough girl.

            “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mr. Head Boy” Emma said as James arrived. The two had an ongoing, playful, competitive banter. “Haven’t seen you around her lately, figured you realized you couldn’t beat us and gave up.”

            “As if. You see Emma, I’m so good I don’t need to practice every day.” James replied.

            “Well, I bet you’re a bit rusty now, Potter. But I suppose if you’re confident, I’ll allow you to race me.” Emma said, and James knew he was going to have to race her. He never could turn down a challenge.

            “You’re on Vanity, first one to the window of Dumbledore’s office wins.” James said. They both mounted their brooms and counted off. Then they were zooming across the sky, and James felt pure adrenaline pumping through his veins.

            He did realize though, that his time away had made him rusty. He wasn’t on top of his game, and the distance between him and Emma was increasing. He tried to push forward, give it all he had, but Emma was still better. She reached Dumbledore’s window roughly five seconds and fifteen feet before James.

           “I’ll get you next time, Vanity.” He said as they cruised back to the pitch.

            “Whatever you say.” Emma said. “I guess I’ll let you off this time, it has to be a lot, being Head Boy.”

            “It is, the first years are absolute nightmares.” James told her.

            “Oh, I know. I heard about the presentation from some of the Slytherins.” Emma laughed. “Of course, my house is lacking a lot of new faces this year.” Emma said, kind of sadly. James was unsure how to respond.

            “I know about our reputation, I just hoped that we’d be able to get some new, uninfluenced Slytherins this year. You know, we aren’t all bad.” She said. James digested this for a moment. She was right, Andromeda wasn’t bad, and she was in Slytherin.

            “You’re right, I’m sorry you guys don’t have many new recruits this year, but hey, you still have your team. I don’t know how we’ll beat you guys.” James said. It was almost October, and matches would be starting in November. He needed to get his team out to the field.

            “Oh, don’t even dream of beating us, Potter. It won’t happen.” Emma laughed.

            “We’ll see about that. I’ve got some pretty good players this year, and I know they’re dying to destroy you lot.” James said. He thought of Mary McDonald and Marlene McKinnon. Mary was fantastic, but Marlene was even better. He thought that if anyone could play professionally, it would be Marlene.

            “Well, guess I better get my team working extra hard. I’ll see you, Potter.” Emma said, and then she descended and headed back towards the castle.

            James stayed out on the pitch for a while, soaking up the wind and enjoying the sensation of flying. To him, flying was freedom from his obligations. And lord knows he needed that after the weeks he’d had. He coasted around on his broom, his mind blissfully empty.

 

            Suddenly, the sky was a sickening green. Dark black clouds crowded the sky, and harsh winds blew all around. James quickly returned to the ground, as even the most skilled quidditch player would have difficulty staying upright in the present conditions.

            As James got to the ground, he looked up, horrified to see that the dark clouds formed something, something threatening. A skull with a snake coming out of its mouth loomed over him, in the sky. He didn’t know what to do. He was sure it was _his_ doing, Voldemort’s.

            Before he knew it, his legs were moving quickly. He had broken into a sprint, thinking only that he must get to Dumbledore’s office. He ran into the castle, past the Great Hall, and up the staircases.

            “James!” A voice called. He stopped to see who had called him. It was Lily. “James! Why are you dashing about like a madman?” Lily demanded.

            “You better come with me.” James said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him. She didn’t protest, and soon she was running alongside him.

            They reached Dumbledore’s office, and used the password that the Head Boy and Girl had been given.

            “ _Sugar Quills!_ ” They yelled in unison. The brass eagle turned, and they began to ascend the staircase leading into the headmaster’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so Emma Vanity was a real character. She was a quidditch captain for Slytherin, her name can be seen on a plaque.


	9. The Order

James and Lily burst through the door of the office. Dumbledore was there, sitting at his desk, looking over some papers.

            “Sir, we need to talk to you now.” Lily said. James had briefed her on the situation as they climbed the stairs. “It’s about the war.” She added, which captured Dumbledore’s attention. He stood up from his desk and walked over to them.

            “What happened?” Dumbledore asked, worriedly. “Has anyone been injured?”

            “No sir.” James said. “But, I saw something, floating above the grounds.” This made Dumbledore turn white. His beard seemed to become grayer almost instantly.

            “Mr. Potter, would you mind allowing me to see your memory of it?” Dumbledore asked, and James was bewildered. Dumbledore, seeing the look on James’s face, began to explain, gesturing to a stone bowl in the corner of his office. He explained to James what it was, a Pensive, and how to provide a memory for it.

            Then, James drew his wand, and began to try to pull the memory from his head. To his surprise, a silvery blue trail appeared, attached to his wand. He handed the wand to Dumbledore, who flicked the memory into the Pensive. Then he waved Lily over. She gave him a shocked look.

            “You are Head Girl, and a member of the Order. You should be allowed to see this.” Dumbledore said. He then stuck his head into the Pensive, and a moment later, Lily followed. James stood nearby, waiting for their faces to reemerge. He imagined that they would be dripping wet, he watched as Lily’s long red hair swirled around in the bowl. It was completely submerged in the liquid of the Pensive.

            Finally, their heads emerged, and James waited for what they would say. Lily looked terrified, she kept making anxious glances in James’s direction. Dumbledore seemed composed, a sturdy, unbending tree among a raging wind storm.

            “This has the potential to be a very threatening situation for Hogwarts, and the rest of the world.” Dumbledore said. He then paused, as if giving James and Lily a moment to digest what he had said.

            “But sir,” Lily began, “What exactly, is it?” James was wondering the same thing. He had never heard of the strange symbol, it had never been mentioned by any news source to his memory, its picture had certainly never grazed the front of the Daily Prophet.

            “They call it the Dark Mark, Lily I’m sure you’ve heard about it at meetings before. It hasn’t been seen near Hogwarts before, we have protective spells surrounding the castle to keep dark magic out.” James was confused. What meetings had Lily attended? He wondered for a moment, how she could know more about the Wizarding World, even though she was muggleborn. How did he not know about these meetings? When he came from a pureblood family?

            “It’s a calling card of sorts.” Dumbledore began to explain. “His followers use it, or he does, it’s to summon all of them to the same location. In this case, the Quidditch Pitch. James, were there any other people with you? At the pitch?” Dumbledore asked him. James remembered seeing Emma there. _‘It couldn’t be. Not her.’_ He thought, remembering the conversation they’d had. Emma was sincere, she was not a Death Eater.

            “No sir.” James said. He knew he shouldn’t have lied, but everything in him was screaming to him that Emma was innocent. He had a terrible feeling that if he sold her out, it would just make things worse.

            “Well then. I shall look into it, and the Order will too.” Dumbledore said, and James was yet again confused, _‘Who is the Order?’_ He wondered. He was perplexed by this secret organization that Lily and Dumbledore knew about. He couldn’t take the mystery any longer, finally, he asked.

            “Sir, what it the Order?” The question seemed to take Dumbledore aback, as though he hadn’t realized James was unaware.

            “It’s an organization, against the Dark Lord, and his servants.” Dumbledore said.

            “Well, could I join? I want to be a part of it?” James said. The headmaster looked at him quizzically.

            “Why?” Dumbledore asked him. James was baffled, and a bit insulted. Did Dumbledore think he wasn’t serious? That he was unreliable? James could feel words filling his mouth.

            “Why? Because I don’t want to see this world gone to shit. I don’t want to see everything magic has accomplished blown to smithereens. I don’t want a world where we reject wizards based purely on whether or not their parents had magic. I don’t want a world where people live in fear. I don’t want a force so terrifying that people won’t say the name in this world. I-“

He was cut off by a wave of Dumbledore’s hand.

            “I understand James. I had to ask you, to make sure you knew why you were joining. These are serious times.” Dumbledore said, and James knew that in some ways, Dumbledore still saw him as a joker.

            “I know, sir.” He said, seriously, hoping the headmaster could see that he had matured, that he knew what he was doing.

            “Then I see no reason you should be excluded. Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix.” Dumbledore said to him.

            “I’ll do well, sir. I promise.” James said to him, and Dumbledore nodded. Then, he sent James and Lily away, telling them to get some rest, and not to worry anymore about the war that night.


	10. James and Lily: On the Case

 

            Lily, James realized, was not one to just cease worrying. She talked the whole way back to their dorm, filling the space between them with words, more words than James thought he had ever heard at one time. She told James about the Order, and the newest developments in the war, and she wondered aloud who had cast the Dark Mark into the sky.

            They reached the dormitory, and James knew he had to tell her that he’d seen Emma at the pitch. They entered the common room, and he grabbed her arm gently, pulling her towards the couch. Lily gave a sound of protest, but James was quick with an explanation, telling her that he needed to speak with her. She stopped pulling the other way and sat down.

            “What is it James? It’s late.” Lily said, glancing up towards her room, a look of longing on her face.

            “I lied, to Dumbledore, about the, you know.” James struggled to find the words, he had been so certain of his choice in Dumbledore’s office, but Lily had a way of making him question things he’d done. Everything he’d done. He felt the overwhelming need to please her all the time. He wanted so badly to impress her.

            “You lied?” Lily asked with an even tone. James was surprised. She didn’t sound mad, not at all, just curious.

            “Well, yes. I saw Emma Vanity, at the pitch.” James said. Lily was still sitting across from him calmly.

            “Why didn’t you tell him?” She asked. Still, more curious than anything. She was not angry at all.

            “I just, I had a bad feeling about it, telling him. I don’t think she did it. It had to have been someone else.” James said. Lily was still looking calmly at him.

            “Well then, I suppose we have a mystery to solve.” Lily said. James was shocked. Lily wanted to continue keeping this a secret? She wanted to investigate on her own, well, not on her own, with him.

            “I suggest we ask Emma about it, and we should also bring in another person, someone who his followers will trust.” Lily said.

            “Well, most of them are in Slytherin. I know Andromeda, but she isn’t really, well, friends with them.” James said. “I don’t know of anyone like that.”

            “I might.” Lily said. James was surprised. Then, he had a thought, he knew who she might be thinking of.

            “Not Severus.” James protested.

            “No, no. Of course not.” Lily said, waving her hand dismissively. “James, just trust me. I’ll see you in the morning.” Lily said, and then ascended the stairs to her room, leaving James sitting alone in the common room, confused out of his mind.

 

            The next morning, James awoke to the sound of voices in the common room. It was a Saturday, a day James firmly believed was for sleeping in. He descended the stairs to see Lily sitting on the couch, talking with Marlene McKinnon.

            “Good morning James!” Lily said brightly. “I decided to take advantage of our positions, and had breakfast delivered. We can’t waste time.” She pushed a plate of toast and eggs towards him, and he began to devour them.

            “Okay so, we’ll need to be vigilant, secretive.” Marlene said. “James, would you have anything that may be helpful to us? I’m sure you do, you’ve managed to pull all those pranks throughout the years, for the most part undetected.” James was impressed, he’d known Marlene forever, but he had never see her take charge like that.

            “I do.” James said. “I have a map, and a cloak.”

            “So? We already know our way around the castle. And some fashion isn’t going to help us catch a Death Eater.” Marlene said.

            “Marlene! Don’t be rude!” Lily said. “Thank you James, but I think I’ll have to agree with Marlene here, we need something better than that.”

            “No, no!” James said. “They’re magical.” Marlene and Lily looked skeptical. “Here.” James said, going to retrieve his map and cloak.

            “Look at this,” James said, pulling his silver cloak around his torso, which then disappeared. “It’s an invisibility cloak.” He explained.

            “This could work.” Lily said. “Do you think? If she couldn’t be seen? Would she help us then?” James was yet again bewildered. Who was Lily talking about?

            “She does want to help. She’s just afraid they’ll find out. This cloak is perfect!” Marlene exclaimed. “I’ll go get her.”

            “I’ll come with you.” Lily said, but Marlene shook her head.

            “It’s best if just I go.” Marlene said. “Check out Potter’s map thing. The cloak turned out to actually be quite useful.” She said, before exiting the common room. James pulled his map out of his pocket.

            “Okay so, here it is.” He said, handing it over to Lily. She looked bewilderedly at the blank piece of parchment he’d handed her. “Hold on.” He said. He pulled out his wand and muttered the incantation that Peter had created.

            “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” He said. Words began to form on the map and Lily gasped.

            “The Marauder’s Map?” Lily said, questioningly.

            “Yeah.” James said. “That’s kind of what we call ourselves, my friends and I.” He explained.

            “Where did this come from?” She asked him.

            “We made it. A couple of years ago. Peter was the one who charmed it to appear blank.” James said.

            “You mean Peter Pettigrew?” Lily asked.

            “Yeah, Pettigrew. He’s kind of a quiet genius.” James said. “So the idea was that we’d be able to see when teachers or prefects were near. You know, for when we wanted to mess around.”

            “Wow.” Lily said incredulously. “This has every room in the castle on it?”

            “All the ones we know of, yeah.” James said. “It shows everyone in the castle too. Look, there’s Marlene.” James said, pointing toward her name, footsteps by it headed toward the library.

            “This is really impressive James. Like, _really.”_ She said earnestly, turning towards him. He felt suddenly embarrassed.

            “I mean, I had help. I worked with three other people.” He said. “I mean, you could probably manage it by yourself.” He said, hoping that he hadn’t said too much. In the past he’d made his crush overly clear, and she’d resented it.

            But Lily just smiled at him and thanked him. They continued to talk, mostly about complicated magic they wanted to learn. Soon enough Marlene had returned.

            James went to let her and this mystery person in. He had intended to check the map to see who she might be bringing, but he got wrapped up in his conversation with Lily. He opened the door, and in came Marlene, her hand clasped in the air, around the cloak which could not be seen. She pulled off the cloak to reveal the guest. James saw her and was frozen in shock.

            The guest was Narcissa Black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I've been busy on vacation spending time with my family.


	11. Double Agent Extraordinaire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Narcissa Black, the anonymous informant.

 

            “What is she doing here?” James leaned over and whispered to Lily. Lily shushed him and Marlene began to speak.

            “So, this is Narcissa, as you might know. Um, she wants to help us figure out who put the uh, the thing, in the sky.” Marlene seemed flustered for some reason, but James had no idea why. He guessed the subject of Voldemort was just making her nervous.

            “Thank you, Narcissa.” Lily said, giving her an awkward smile. Narcissa nodded. “Do you have any ideas as to who might’ve done this?”

            “I do.” Narcissa said.

            “Well please, come sit down, and we’ll talk about it.” Lily said, ushering them all towards the couches. Narcissa sat gently on the edge of the loveseat, as if she was ready to run at any moment. Marlene sat next to her, and James and Lily took the seats opposite to them. Narcissa sighed.

            “I hate to do this. I feel like I’ll be betraying my house.” She said. Marlene was looking at her worriedly.

            “Well you don’t have to do this, you know that right?” Marlene asked her softly. She still looked worried.

            “I know. But I should. Honestly I don’t like this any more than you do. There are, well, there’s people I care about who support this, but not me.”

            “Do you mean your sister? Bellatrix?” James asked. “She doesn’t go here anymore though. How did she get in?” James wondered aloud.

            “No. It wasn’t her.” Narcissa said coldly. James then noticed that all three of the girls were shooting him annoyed glares.

            “You said you feel like you’ll be betraying your house, do you know it was a Slytherin?” Lily asked, turning away from James to Narcissa.

            “Yes. I heard, discussion, about it.” Narcissa said.

            “Who was talking about it?” James asked.

            “I’m not sure. I heard it late at night, in the common room. I’d woken up, and I was going to sit down there when I heard them talking.” She said.

            “Well, could you recognize voices? Any of them?” Lily asked her. Narcissa just shook her head.

            “Okay, well thank you for your information.” Lily said.

            “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.” Narcissa said.

            “It’s okay, come on, let’s go back to the library.” Marlene said, leading Narcissa towards the door. James picked up his cloak and tossed it towards them.

            “In case you still need it.” He said.

            “Thanks man. I’ll get this back to you soon.” Marlene said, throwing the cloak over Narcissa and exiting the dorm.

 

 

 

            “Narcissa.” Marlene said, once they’d reached the library. They were in the very back where all the dusty, unread books were kept. Even Madame Pince, despite her love of books, didn’t venture back there.

            “What?” Narcissa asked, her voice thick as though she was about to cry.

            “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Marlene said softly, leaning closer to the other girl.

            “I guess.” She said, leaning into Marlene. “It’s just. I don’t know everything is so complicated.” She sighed.

            “With what?” Marlene asked, though she suspected Narcissa was referring to her relationship with Lucius Malfoy, her on again off again boyfriend.

            “Well, Lucius and I are fighting all the time. I’m just so afraid that we’ll break up again.” Narcissa said.

            “So what? I mean, you don’t _need_ him. You’re Narcissa Black, beautiful and intelligent, and completely full on your own.”

            “You think so?” Narcissa asked, looking up at Marlene, her eyes bright.

            “Absolutely.”

            “Well then, I guess I should tell you something.” Narcissa said quietly, as if she was hoping Marlene wouldn’t hear.

            “What is it?”

            “I lied. I did recognize the voices. One of them was Lucius’s. Please don’t tell James or Lily. I just. I just felt like I needed to talk to him before telling anyone.”

            “Well have you? Talked to him?” Marlene asked.

            “Well, no. I’m going to, I just, I needed to tell you.”

            “Why though?” Marlene was confused. Why would Narcissa tell her before she’d spoken to Lucius?

            “Well just because. I guess I just, need some support? Like, I’d probably back out of talking to him about this if no one knew.”

            “I see.” Marlene said. “Well you should definitely talk to him. And I’m here for you, any time you need me.”

            “Thank you.” Narcissa said, standing up. Marlene followed in suit. “I better get going, but I’ll catch up with you later.” She then pulled Marlene into a tight hug before hurrying off.

Marlene was left there, in the library, feeling dizzy. Narcissa had hugged her, that was a first. She knew she shouldn’t think too much into it. It was just a simple hug, but still. She sighed. She’d never get over this stupid crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO next chapter of so will be from Marlene's POV because she's a star and I love her and the Narcissa storyline I'm working. Also this is short because I can't write filler, but the next chapter will be good and longer.


	12. In the Night

 

            Marlene McKinnon awoke in the middle of the night. Someone was shaking her shoulder. She looked up in a fright, only to see the tearstained face of Narcissa Black. She very quietly pulled her robe off its hook by her bed, and crept out of the room she shared with the other Seventh Year Gryffindor girls, Narcissa following behind her.

            They ventured out of Gryffindor Tower, Marlene looking for some place quiet where she could talk to Narcissa, who was very upset. They had ended up in a corridor a ways away from the dorms, a place Marlene thought nobody would be occupying at that time of night.

            Suddenly they heard footsteps. Narcissa jumped and Marlene grabbed her hand and led her to a dark spot behind a stairwell, hoping that they would go undetected. The footsteps continued towards them, and Narcissa squeezed Marlene’s hand so tight she almost cut off her circulation. Marlene heard the footsteps pass them, continuing on their way. She watched as the figures moved down the corridor, at one point falling into some light. She recognized the red tresses of one of the figures, Lily. She let out a sigh of relief.

            “Don’t worry.” She whispered to Narcissa, “It was only James and Lily doing their night rounds. Lily tells me that they’re both half asleep and don’t really look closely at all.” Marlene hoped this was reassuring to her. She stood up and continued her search for a quiet place. Narcissa didn’t let go of her hand.

            As they moved around the castle Marlene kept thinking to herself _‘I need a quiet place. A quite place. Quiet place.’_ She then noticed a door she had not seen before. She opened it to find a small room with comfortable looking couches. She was bewildered, hadn’t this always been just a stretch of wall? She quickly brushed the thought off, blaming it on tiredness, and ushered Narcissa into the room.

            “So what’s wrong?” She asked as they settled onto the couches. Narcissa burst into tears.

            “It’s, it’s Lucius.” She sobbed. “He, he d-d-did it. Him and his friends. And I, I just got so _tired_ of it. And I, I” Narcissa stopped speaking. She just sat and there and cried. Marlene went over to her, wrapping her arms around her petite frame. She began to rub her back, the way her father used to do when she got upset.

            “Shhhh. It’s okay.” Marlene whispered, holding the other girl in her arms. Narcissa buried her face into Marlene’s shoulder and sobbed for a while. Marlene just held her, rubbing her back until she calmed down.

            Once Narcissa wasn’t sobbing anymore, Marlene decided to test the waters a bit and figure out exactly what had happened.

            “Okay so I’m going to ask you some yes or no questions, just to start out. Is that okay?” She asked. Narcissa nodded.

            “Did you speak to Lucius?”

            Narcissa nodded.

            “Did it go well?”

            She shook her head.

           “Was he involved in putting the Dark Mark above the Quidditch Pitch?”

            A nod.

            “You were angry with him?”

            Nod.

            “Did you get in an argument over it?”

            Narcissa nodded, and sniffled.

            “Was he very mad?”

            Nod.

            “Did he hurt you?”

            Narcissa didn’t move. She just laid there, her head on Marlene’s chest. Marlene felt anger rising in her chest as she jumped to every worst possible conclusion. Her fists clenched. She did her best to calm herself down, getting wound up wouldn’t help Narcissa. She did all the muggle tricks Lily had taught her, counted to ten, took deep breaths.

            “Narcissa, did he hurt you?” She asked again, once she’d calmed down, though her fist remained clenched tightly.

            “No. I mean, he grabbed me when I ran away but, no, not really.” She finally said. Marlene grabbed her arms to examine them, there were faint red finger marks around her forearm.

            “Why were you running away?” Marlene asked her.

            “Well he was just so mad, and he, he started saying all these awful things. He said I’m the most useful Black sister, I’m not ambitious like Bellatrix, and I’m not as smart as Andromeda.” Narcissa’s voice wavered, but she continued. “He said that the only reason he keeps me around is my looks, they’re all I’m good for. And he told me I should be grateful that he tolerates me at all.”

            “Merlin. He’s the stupid one. You’re excellent. You have ambition too, just because you’re not off joining the Dark Lord doesn’t mean you don’t have ambitions. And you are so smart. You needed some help, so I tutored you, but you can do things even I can’t do. Like tonight, how did you even get into Gryffindor Tower?” Marlene said, and Narcissa cracked a small smile. “I’m serious. You’re a genius.”

            “Thank you Marlene.” She said.

            “Oh, I’m not done. The whole thing about how he only likes you for your looks. That’s ridiculous, you’re a human, not a piece of furniture.”

            “You’re right.” Narcissa said, her voice strengthened. “I mean I’m a person. I’d like to think I’m a fairly interesting one at that too. I’m not just some pretty face.”

            “You’re not. Though you are quite stunning, your personality is your best feature. I mean, I’ve never met anyone so sweet, and so clever, and so absolutely wonderful in every way.” Marlene said. “I mean, you’re perfect, absolutely perfect.”

            “Do you mean that?” Narcissa whispered quietly, staring up at her.

            “I really do.” Marlene whispered back. The two just sat there for a moment, letting the words they’d exchanged soak in.

            “Marlene.” Narcissa broke the silence.

            “Yes?”

            “I just want you to know that you’re kind of my best friend.”

            “Yeah, you too.” Marlene smiled. “Now come on, we need to get to sleep. Thank goodness tomorrow is only Sunday.” She said, pulling Narcissa to her feet.

            The two then exited the room, and Marlene swore that she saw the door disappearing out of the corner of her eye, but blamed it on the bad lighting.

            “Will you walk me to my dorm?” Narcissa asked her, shoving all thoughts of doors out of her mind. Marlene nodded. “And maybe we should hold hands again, you know, so we don’t get lost in the dark.” Marlene knew that made no sense, but she was too tired to complain, and honestly didn’t want to. She grabbed the other girl’s hand and they began walking towards the Slytherin dorms in a peaceful silence.

            “Well, I’ll see you around.” Narcissa said.

            “Yeah, goodnight, sweet dreams.” Marlene responded. Suddenly Narcissa was up on the tips of her toes and she was pressing her lips faintly against Marlene’s cheek.

“Goodnight Mar.” Narcissa said, ducking into her dorm before Marlene could react.

Which she was half grateful for, because in all truth, she didn’t know what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I love Narcissa and Marlene. But I will be returning to James and Lily shortly, so don't worry. (By shortly I mean within the next 2 chapters)


	13. Case Closed: Almost

 

            That Sunday morning James Potter woke up on the floor of the common room he shared with Lily. He blinked a few times, his eyes not yet used to the light that was pouring in from the wide windows of the common room. He took a few deep breaths, taking in the last few moments of rest before facing the day.

            Stretching, he got up and began to look around for his glasses, a venture that was rather unsuccessful since he had such bad eyesight without them. He bumbled around the room, eventually making enough noise to wake Lily.

            “Potter.” She groaned, “What on Earth are you doing?” She demanded as she began to sit up from where she’d been asleep on one of the loveseats.

            “I’m looking for my glasses.” He said, continuing to move around the room aimlessly. “Any chance you’ve seen them?”

            “They’re right here?” Lily answered, “You know, on the coffee table? Where you put them?” She asked him as if trying to jog his memory. She held them out to him, but he made no move for them. “Wow Potter, can you really not see me holding these?”

            “No.” He replied. “And to be honest, I only have a faint idea of where you are, you know, because of your hair, without it I’d be lost.”

            “You’d be lost without my hair?” Lily asked as she got up to give James his glasses. “More like you’d be lost without me.” She said, sliding the glasses onto his face.

            “Thanks Lily.” James said, before noticing just how close Lily was to him. “I mean, thanks Evans.” James said, then immediately mentally slapped himself. Whenever he got nervous he called her Evans. He knew she hated it, what was he thinking?

            “Sure, no problem.” Lily said awkwardly, beginning to back away from her place right in front of him. They stared at each other for a moment.

            “So I’ll contact Marlene today, see if she figured anything else out from Narcissa.” Lily said, back to business.

            “Do you think Narcissa would’ve told her anything else?” James asked.

            “It’s possible. You know Marlene, she’s very easy to speak with, and she’s friendly with Narcissa.” Lily said.

            “I see. Well there’s no harm in asking her, but can we please get some breakfast first?” James said, already thinking about the delicious buffet that was waiting for him just down a few staircases.

            “Absolutely, I’m starving.” Lily agreed.

 

 

            Meanwhile Marlene was perched outside the Slytherin dorms, waiting for Narcissa to exit them. As she got ready that day she considered the possibility that Narcissa wouldn’t leave her dorm. It was Sunday, and almost every Hogwarts student had snacks tucked away somewhere in their dorms so they could eat even when the Great Hall was not serving food. Marlene could wait all day while Narcissa sat inside her dorm, oblivious.

            After about an hour of waiting, Marlene decided to try a different approach. She’d sat there considering her options. She could try to guess the password and enter the dorms, but then she’d run the risk of being jumped by the residents of the dorm. She could use a bubblehead charm, jump into the lake, and swim toward the window to Narcissa’s room. She’d heard that the merpeople sometimes peered through the windows. (The Giant Squid did as well, occasionally throwing himself against the windows as if to say “WITNESS ME”.) But she decided she’d rather not risk being attacked by malevolent marine creatures.

            Finally she settled on sending an owl. She began to head towards the Owlery. She knew she couldn’t send her owl, it was too recognizable. Everyone knew that the tiniest owl at Hogwarts belonged to her. People laughed when they saw the nearly six foot tall Marlene with her tiny owl.

            Upon her arrival at the Owlery Marlene began to search for the least conspicuous owl she could find. She decided to bypass the snowy owl that was perched right near the entrance, knowing that its bright feathers would stick out as it flew through the cloudy late fall sky. She settled instead for a brown owl that had been sleeping in the corner. She woke it up by gently stroking its feathers. The owl opened its eyes and gave her a look she recognized as annoyance. Marlene quickly pulled a pumpkin pastie from her pocket, unwrapping it as she did so, and gave a chunk to the owl to appease it. The owl gently nudged her in gratitude.

            “Okay.” She said, looking the owl in the eyes. “I need you to deliver a message to Narcissa Black, Slytherin House.” Then she pulled out paper and a pen. Lily had given her the pen, saying that it would come in handy when she needed to write something outside of class. Marlene had brushed this off at the time, but now she was grateful for her best friend’s muggle sensibilities.

_Narcissa,_

_Would you please meet me by the girl’s lavatory on the first floor? I’m sure you know the one I am referencing._

_Yours,_

_M. McKinnon_

            She rolled the note up and the owl grabbed it, and flew away. Marlene began to make her way towards the first floor bathroom, where they were guaranteed to be alone. Narcissa arrived about fifteen minutes later, Marlene stood up from where she had been sitting on the floor, eating the rest of the pastie she’d opened for the owl.

            “I got your owl.” Narcissa said simply, waving the small note in her hand in case Marlene had somehow forgotten what she was referencing. Marlene nodded and gestured for Narcissa to follow her into the bathroom.

            The two girls situated themselves on the unused sinks, Marlene silently offered the rest of her pastie, but Narcissa declined. They began to hear a voice coming from the stalls.

            “Ooh. Visitors!” The voice said, Moaning Myrtle. “I hardly ever get visitors,” She began to sob, “Nobody wants to see me!”

            “Now that’s not true Myrtle!” Marlene said, an idea forming in her head. “In fact, James Potter said to me just the other day that he wished you would come visit him.” Marlene had been waiting for an opportunity to mess with James, ever since he’d stuck her broom in the Slytherin locker room the year before.

            “He has? Then why doesn’t he just visit me?” Myrtle asked.

            “Well he’s a very busy guy, you know, being Head Boy and all. I’m sure a visit with you is just what he needs. You have to put yourself out there Myrtle!” Marlene said, knowing she was laying it on thick. Myrtle was buying it though.

            “I will put myself out there! I’ll go see him right now! How do I look?”

            “Just lovely, Myrtle.” Narcissa interjected. Marlene smiled, glad that Narcissa was on the same page as her.

            “Well, thank you. Now ladies I must be leaving, there’s a man waiting for me.” Myrtle said, giggling as she floated out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness, I've been so busy, not to mention sick.


	14. Super Secret Meeting

 

            “So here’s the deal.” Marlene said, deciding the best course of action would be to cut right to it. She wasn’t the best with words, and she hated the thought of having to use many of them just to be told no, which there was a strong chance of.

            “James and Lily need to know that Lucius was the one to cast the Dark Mark.” Marlene said. Narcissa looked at her blankly.

            “So?” She asked, sounding perplexed.

            “So I was wondering if I could tell them.” Marlene said, now equally confused. “I mean, I don’t know what they’ll do, if they’ll tell Dumbledore, or not. I just wanted to know if that would be okay with you.”

            “I assumed you’d already told them.” Naricissa said. “I mean, thank you, for asking me, but I told you with the thought that you’d tell James and Lily. I was fine with that. I honestly can’t believe you haven’t.”

            “Well I would never want to tell anyone anything you didn’t wish for me to share. I don’t want to betray your trust.” Marlene said. Narcissa stared at her for a moment.

            “That’s rather odd.” She said.

            “Really? I don’t think so.” Marlene was confused at Narcissa’s response.

            “I suppose that might be normal to you, but in my family it is stranger than the practices of muggles. I don’t think there have ever been any secrets in my house.” She said.

            “I can’t imagine that. The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black has always been quite mysterious to me, to everyone really.”

            “Well sure, we keep all our shames and secrets hidden from outsiders, but the whole family knows. You should see the way they treat my older sister, Andromeda. She hasn’t been disowned yet, but the whole family acts like it. They ignore her, pretend she isn’t there. And as for Sirius, well we were all there when his mother burned him off the tree. Everything is a spectacle.” Narcissa sighed.

            “That’s intense.” Marlene said. “I mean, it’s almost the complete opposite of my family. Nothing is discussed among us. Their daughter likes to kiss girls as well as boys? Ignore it. Nobody needs to know. Your uncle has run off to join the death eaters? Well he’s just on a vacation.” Marlene said. She was getting upset.

            The two sat in silence for a moment, and then, Narcissa reached over and took Marlene’s hand. She held it and traced soft circles with her thumb. Marlene felt herself begin to relax. She turned and looked at Narcissa.

            “It’s okay.” The other girl said softly, looking at Marlene. She comfortingly at her. “Can I ask you about something though?” Narcissa asked.

            “Yes.” Marlene said, bracing herself for whatever it was that the other girl might want to know.

            “Can I kiss you?” Marlene was shocked. She had never expected a question like this. She couldn’t find the words to say, so she just nodded. Narcissa smiled and gave her a soft kiss.

            “Why, why did you do that?” Marlene asked after a moment.

            “I just thought, I don’t know. You’ve been so nice to me, and I like you a lot, and well I don’t know, something about you feels different.” Narcissa said.

            “I like you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been over a month and I am sorry. I have SO much going on since school started and I am involved in 4 clubs. But!!! I have a few days off and hopefully I'll write more


	15. Lily is Very Popular

 

            Marlene was sprawled across the bed in Lily’s room. She had been there for a while, Lily had let her in and then proceeded to go back to the main common room to talk to James about some sort of problem they’d been having with students sneaking around the castle after dark. She’d been idly twirling the tassels of the bed curtains around her fingers since. This is what she was doing when Lily returned.

            “You know I have a private common room, right? It’s meant specifically for sitting and waiting in.” She said, looking down at her best friend.

            “I know, but it’s more comfortable in here. They really go all out for the Head Boy and Girl.” Marlene said, sitting up.

            “That’s because we’re the ‘defenders of the castle’” Lily said sarcastically. “More like glorified baby sitters.” She laughed.

            “Baby sitting isn’t so bad. I babysit over the summer.” Marlene said.

            “Me too, but there’s a difference. With actual babysitting I get paid.” Lily sighed. “And it’s at most, three kids. Now I babysit over a thousand kids. A thousand kids Mar, a thousand.”

            “I’m sorry Lil, how many kids did you say? Didn’t quite catch it.” She mocked.

            “Oh piss off.” Lily said, giving her friend a lighthearted shove on the arm. Marlene just laughed.

            “So I assume you’ve come here to do something other than mock me?” Lily said.

            “Nope. Not at all, only here for the mockery.” Marlene joked. Lily gave her a withering look. “Okay, yes I’m here to talk to you about Narcissa.”

            “Ah yes, our Slytherin friend. Or more than friends, in some cases.” Lily laughed, Now it was Marlene’s turn to shoot the death glare.

            “Ignoring that. Anyways, it was totally Lucius who did the whole ‘Dark Mark Scary Sky Scandal’”

            “Oh boohoo. I wanted to hear about Narcissa, not Mr. Silver Ponytail. I mean who does he think he is, Dumbledore?”

            “Lily. I just said that Lucius is responsible for the whole ‘calling-all-voldy-lovers-to-the-quidditch-pitch’ thing. And you’re joking about his hair?”

            “Dear god. I’ve been spending way too much time with James, he’s rubbed off on me.” Lily laughed. “So what should we do about Lucius? I mean, is Narcissa okay with us ratting him out to Dumbledore?” Lily had snapped back into business mode.

            “She assumes you will.” Marlene nodded. “Then I guess it’s up to Dumbledore from there.”

            “Yeah. Most likely. I can hear him saying it now, ‘Good job kids! Now don’t ever think about this incident ever again.’ He may have made us Head Boy and Girl but he treats us like we’re children.”

            “He probably wants you to enjoy your last year of school, not worry about the war too much while you still can.”

            “But I do worry! I’m in the Order for Merlin’s sake! James is as well! We’re just as invested in this as anyone, and I just want to be included. It’s not fair of him to keep information from us, it just makes things worse.” Lily was getting upset.

            “I know, I’m sorry.” Marlene said, wrapping her arms around her friend. “It’s going to be okay. It won’t always be like this. I just know it.”

            “I sure hope you’re right.”

            They sat together in a comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, Lily thinking of the war, and her parents, and her sister. Marlene thinking of Narcissa, and what she was going to do when she left Hogwarts.

            The two were sprung from their thoughts by a tentative knock on the door. Lily stood up and walked over, stretching as she did so. She opened the door to reveal James Potter standing there, anxiously smoothing down his hair.

            “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize Marlene was still here. If this is a bad time I can leave.” He said, his voice trailing off.

            “Nah, I’m on my way out.” Marlene said, standing up and smoothing her clothes.

            “Oh okay, bye Marlene.” Lily said as Marlene walked towards the door.

            “Bye Lils. Bye Potter.” She said, exiting and descending the steps to the main common room. She was about halfway down when James turned and yelled to her.

            “McKinnon! My cloak! I expect it back soon.” He called, remembering his loan. Marlene just laughed and continued on her way.

            “You’re never getting it back from her, you know that, right?” Lily smirked.

            “I will if I make her run laps at practice. Ten laps around the pitch for every day it is not in my possession.”

            “Wow. Watch out everyone, don’t test James Potter.” Lily said, laughing. James laughed along with her. “So, and not to be rude, but is there a reason you came up here?” Lily asked. Technically James wasn’t supposed to be near her dorm.

            “Yes, uh that.” James began. “Lily, would you say we’re friends?” He asked, seeming strangely nervous.

            “Well I only spend every waking moment with you.”

            “Because you’re obligated to.”

            “I know, but I enjoy it. We have fun sometimes.” Lily said. “I suppose we are friends. How strange.”

            “Why is that so strange?” James asked.

            “I mean, it’s not, really strange. It’s just strange given the context. I’ve spent the last six years despising you, and now, well. I don’t despise you at all.” Lilly said. “In fact I like you quite a bit.”

            “Well, you’re not too bad yourself.” James smiled. “Anyways there’s this Slug Club Christmas party, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

            “I have.”

            “Well I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me to it.” James said. “As friends of course, nothing else.” He quickly added, not wanting Lily to think he was still just trying to weasel his way into a date with her any way he could.

            “I think that would be nice.” Lily said, smiling at him.

            “Alright then. I’ll pick you up, in the Common Room on that night then?”

            “Well will you be taking me to dinner first?” Lily joked.

            “I’m sorry miss, but I wasn’t planning on it. Slughorn always has the best food, so I figured I’d eat there.”

            “Fair enough. Now I’m sorry but I’ll have to ask you to leave, I have homework and then a meeting with a certain Head Boy for night patrol.”

            “I shall see you then.” James said, turning to leave, a smile stretched wide across his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so that was chapter one, chapter two will be up soon! Please leave comments and kudos if you liked it! Thanks!!


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